Worldwide Sports News

Chris Paddack has logged a pair of starts for the Cincinnati Reds since they picked him up as an emergency band-aid for their starting rotation, and he’s been perfectly fine in those outings. He’s thrown exactly 5.0 IP in each, allowed a total of 4 ER in those 10 IP, and has 8 strikeouts against just 4 walks.

That’s about as good as anyone could have hope for from him given how much he’d been shelled as a starter for the Miami Marlins, and the Reds will ask for more from him on Friday evening in Great American Ball Park as the roaring Atlanta Braves come to town.

To date, Atlanta boasts a collective .334 wOBA offensively, and that’s the third best mark of any club in the game (behind only the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees). They also have the most wins in the sport (38) and best win percentage (.667) of any team, and that’s enough to make any pitcher – let alone Paddack – shake in their boots a little bit.

Of course, the Reds offense has become something of a force itself lately, too. In fact, over the last 30 days it’s been Cincinnati’s offense (.322 wOBA) that’s been better than that of Atlanta (.315). So, maybe we’re just in-line for a good old fashioned shootout in GABP tonight.

Grant Holmes will start for the Braves, and first pitch is slated for 6:40 PM ET.

Here’s how the Reds will line up for this one, with Spencer Steer starting at 2B and Matt McLain out of the lineup to begin:

Want to get more Covers content? Add us as a preferred source on your Google account here.

The New York Yankees are rolling and are the rightful favorites against the Athletics tonight.

Luis Severino’s walk and barrel issues give New York’s power-heavy lineup the cleaner scoring path, and that's why my Yankees vs. Athleticspredictions are laying the run line instead of paying the -155 moneyline tax on the Bombers.

Here are my free MLB picks for Friday, May 29.

Who will win Yankees vs A's tonight: Yankees -1.5 (+108)

I see the New York Yankees' run line price as generous and would play it down to -110.

Luis Severino’s contact profile is a bad fit against New York. His 45th-percentile hard-hit rate and 35th-percentile barrel rate are real concerns against a Yankees lineup built to punish mistakes, led by an MLB-best 11.1% barrel rate and an overall depth of hard-hitting bats.

Carlos Rodon also adds separation on the mound. His 2.96 expected ERA and .153 expected BA allowed point to a sharper current form than Severino’s, giving New York the cleaner starter and louder offense.

COVERS INTEL:New York has the sharper home-run shape (41.9% pull rate and 28.6% fly-ball rate) compared to the A's (36.3% and 25.3%).

Yankees vs A's Over/Under pick: Over 9.5 (-110)

New York has a strong path to crooked innings, and the A's aren't a dead offense against left-handed pitching.

While Rodon’s contact profile is excellent, his 18.6% walk rate creates risk against an Athletics lineup with plenty of pop.

Severino is the bigger trigger. His high walk rate is also a risk factor in this matchup.

I project the Yankees to drive the total, and the A's to do enough to get this Over. I'd play this to -130.

Yankees vs A's odds

• Moneyline: Yankees -155 | A's +145
• Run line: Yankees -1.5 | A's +1.5
• Over/Under: Over 9 | Under 9

Yankees vs A's trend

New York has covered the F5 run line in 31 of its last 50 away games (+9.50 Units / 16% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Yankees vs. A's.

How to watch Yankees vs A's and game info

Yankees vs A's latest injuries

Yankees vs A's weather

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

Want to get more Covers content? Add us as a preferred source on your Google account here.

The stars are out in Southern California as the heavily favored Los Angeles Dodgers host the Philadelphia Phillies tonight, with the game to be broadcast on Apple TV at 10:15 p.m. ET.

With ace Zack Wheeler on the mound and a red-hot, fully rested bullpen behind him, my Phillies vs. Dodgers predictions are backing the visitors in a low-scoring contest.

Find out more in my MLB picks for Friday, May 29.

Who will win Phillies vs Dodgers tonight: Phillies (+100)

This game offers a choice between fool’s gold and pure gold.

Fool’s gold: Los Angeles Dodgers starter Justin Wrobleski and his 3.07 ERA. He doesn’t make batters miss (second percentile whiff rate, fifth percentile K rate) or induce grounders (36.7%), so all that glitters ain’t. 

Pure gold: Zack Wheeler, 1.67 ERA. It’s the third consecutive season his ERA is under 2.75. He limits free passes (88th percentile walk rate) and generates a 98th percentile chase rate.

The Philadelphia Phillies have been destroying southpaws (135 wRC+ in May) and face a hittable one, so I’d play it up to -105.

COVERS INTEL:With winds of 6-12 mph blowing out, Wrobleski’s high fly-ball rate (44.4%) is an issue against a Phillies lineup that makes loud contact (38% hard-hit rate against LHP this month).

Phillies vs Dodgers Over/Under pick: Under 8.5 (-120)

This spot makes for an appealing Under as both bullpens are fully rested following Thursday’s off day.

Philadelphia has an unreal 2.00 SIERA and 28.9 K-BB% in relief over the last 20 days. LA holds a 2.94 FIP in that span and recently had an incredible 38-inning scoreless streak from the bullpen snapped.

The Phillies have cashed the Over just nine times in 26 away games, whereas the Dodgers have done so 11 times in 28 home games.

Interim manager Don Mattingly has changed the Phillies’ identity, and they’ve gone 2-14 O/U in the last 16 games.

Phillies vs Dodgers odds

• Moneyline: Phillies +105 | Dodgers -116
• Run line: Phillies +1.5 (-205) | Dodgers -1.5 (+177)
• Over/Under: Over 7.5 (-120) | Under 7.5 (+100)

Phillies vs Dodgers trend

The Phillies have hit the Under in six consecutive games. Find more MLB betting trends for Phillies vs. Dodgers.

How to watch Phillies vs Dodgers and game info

Phillies vs Dodgers latest injuries

Phillies vs Dodgers weather

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

The Atlanta Braves have lost three of their last five games, and their offense has been a roller coaster. They scored seven and ten runs respectively in their last two wins, but scored zero runs twice and one run in the other game. Still, their offense ranks as second in MLB in total runs scored.

The Braves will have a chance to build on their ten run performance from yesterday when they face off against Chris Paddack who is struggling to a 6.86 ERA. His expected ERA (xERA) is much better at 4.32, but us still to a point that the Braves on paper should be able to tag him for some runs.

Mike Yastrzemski has done very well against Paddack in his career. In twenty-five at-bats he has three HRs, a .400 average, and 1.324 OPS. Ozzie Albie has been successful as well with a .364 average and 1.000 OPS in eleven at-bats.

A big question mark before the lineup card dropped was whether Dominic Smith would DH since Walt Weiss has been known thus far to not use the same lineup everyday. Smith has had a fantastic season, but has struggled to a .182 average against Paddack in eleven at-bats, but has a HR. Another lineup move that many likely had their eyes on was who was going to play SS. Jorge Mateo has been on fire by his standards this year. He has started nineteen games and has multi-hit games in eight of them. That being said, the reason he got the start yesterday was likely due to the pitcher being a lefty. Ha-Seong Kim has clearly struggled this season, but he also has not fully ramped up.

As it turns out, Smith did end up being in the starting lineup and will bat fifth. Mateo also got the start proven against the idea what Weiss may be using his as the main option for lefties moving forward. Chadwick Tromp will get the start a week after his walk-off magic in the eleventh inning.

Grant Holmes will take the mound the the Braves to face the Reds. No Reds player has faced Holmes more than seven at-bats, but most of the ones that have had success against him. Of the nine players to face him, six of them have at-least a .333 average.

TJ Friedl is the player to keep an eye on. In his four at-bats against Holmes, he has two HRs.

Interestingly, Freidl will be batting ninth against Holmes. As can be seen in the graphic above, the Reds will be wearing their city connect jerseys this evening.

The Braves look to jumpstart their offense tonight. First pitch is at 6:40 EDT

Undeniably a key factor in the Phillies’ turnaround after an atrocious start to the season, a recently recovered Zack Wheeler is winning the current round of a battle against Father Time by being one of the more dominant starters in the National League since his return to a big league mound in late April. Although it is not always the case, for Wheeler in particular, the level of dominance he has presented has been enough to make the Phillies unbeatable in his starts.

The Dodgers will be the seventh team to go up against Wheeler this season, and evidently the best he has faced. Los Angeles will try to accomplish what each of the previous six failed to do, which is to beat the Phillies, who are 6-0 in Wheeler starts.

Justin Wrobleski might not have been the first pick for such a lofty task, but the southpaw carries an edge in this particular matchup. The Phillies offense is redefining the meaning of “top-heavy,” with two-thirds of their lineup carrying an OPS of .656 or lower. Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, and Brandon Marsh have carried this offense, all three of them lefties. Now, Harper and Schwarber are scary hitters regardless of who they’re facing, but you’d still prefer a lefty there.

This lack of anything even remotely resembling a bit of depth is why Philly enters play on Friday with the fifth-worst team wRC+ in the sport, relying primarily on their pitching to carry this team.

Friday’s game info

• Teams: Dodgers vs. Phillies
• Ballpark: Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles
• Start time: 7:10 p.m. PT
• TV: Apple TV
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)

The Diamondbacks are the hottest team in baseball. Full stop. They have won nine of their last ten. They’ve done it with great starting pitching, better than average offense, and they’ve even mixed in some spectacular defense from time to time. Yes, it comes against two of the worst teams in baseball, but even when you’re playing bad teams, you still have to beat them, and to do so in such a stretch is both impressive and exactly what they needed to do. They’ve got to keep the momentum up against the top teams now, but this is exactly the kick start they needed.

They go from the bottom of the NL West, to the top of the AL West. The AL West is slightly less competitive than the NL West, though, so that isn’t as scary as it could be. The Mariners are currently first in their division, but that only requires a 28-29 record at the moment. They’re on a hot streak of their own, however. They just swept division rival Oakland. We’ll see which sweep of a sub-.500 team holds up more.

Game 1 — 5/29, 7:10 PM: Zac Gallen (-0.3 bWAR, 3-4, 4.80 ERA/85 ERA+, 1.43 WHIP) vs. George Kirby (1.0 bWAR, 5-4, 3.54 ERA/110 ERA+, 1.20 WHIP)

Someone should do the math on how much money each mediocre start costs Gallen. At the rate he’s going, it’s going to be a lot. His hopes of a bounce back campaign to secure the multi-year, nine figure contract is waning, and he just hasn’t done much of anything particularly of note this season. The month of May has been especially rough after a decent start to the season in April. He has given up more than four earned runs in three of his five starts so far, and gave up three in an additional start just for good measure.

George Kirby has had a solidly above average season so far, but he’s been on a bit of a downward trend lately. In seven of his first nine starts, he held opponents to two runs or less, and he did not give up more than four. He also has been consistently pitching into the sixth inning or longer. However, his last two starts against the Padres and the Royals have been out of the ordinary. HE gave up six earned runs to the Padres, and five runs, three earned, to the Royals. The Padres game he got bit by the home run ball, but the Royals it seems it was just the errors that held him back. The Diamondbacks have power, and they have the speed to force misplays, so they’ll be looking to recreate those games.

Game 2 — 5/30, 7:10 PM: Ryne Nelson (-0.3 bWAR, 2-3, 4.65 ERA/88 ERA+, 1.18 WHIP) vs. Bryan Woo (0.7 bWAR, 4-3, 3.82 ERA/102 ERA+, 1.03 WHIP)

Don’t look now, but Ryne Nelson has been actually rather successful in the month of May. He has an ERA of 2.36 for the month, with the crowning achievement being his eight innings of one run ball against the Rockies in his most recent start. The question becomes how sustainable it is. He has a FIP of 4.29 for the month, almost exactly two runs higher than his month of May ERA. The strikeouts are inconsistent, the walks are high, and he’s basically a guarantee for a home run per start. Not promising for long term success.

In 2026, Woo has had similar results to Kirby. About a month ago, Woo had back to back starts where he gave up seven and six runs repsectively, but beyond that, it’s been good starts. One thing to note, the only home runs he has given up this year came in those two previously mentioned bad starts. Other than that, he has kept the ball in the park all season long. He’s given up two walks in each of his last four starts, so he will give you those free base runners. The Diamondbacks should probably plan on building innings, not mashing home runs, for this one.

Game 3 — 5/31, 1:10 PM: Merrill Kelly (-0.1 bWAR, 5-3, 5.25 ERA/78 ERA+, 1.41 WHIP) vs. Bryce Miller (0.4 bWAR, 1-0, 2.25 ERA/176 ERA+, 1.00 WHIP)

After a very rough first four months, Merrill Kelly is starting to look much more like the Mainstay that we thought Hazen had signed this off season. In his most recent four starts, he has thrown at least six innings, twice going seven, and a complete game just for good measure. The Giants tagged him for a couple runs, three in their first start against him and two in their second, but nothing crazy. With how rough his first four starts were, it will take a while before the stats start to look better, but he’s making progress.

This will be Miller’s fourth game, but third start as his last appearance was actually out of the bullpen. Not much to go off of so far, of course, but early returns have been positive. He’s gone at least five innings in all of his appearances, including his relief outing, and he has yet to give up more than two runs.

Conclusion

We aren’t picking on the bottom of the standings anymore, so the Diamondbacks should expect the Mariners to put up a bit more of a fight. That being said, this is a division leader that is sub-.500. Still plenty of room for them to continue padding their win column. I expect them to take two out of three in fairly low scoring affairs.

Coming into the 2026 season, the Mets were seemingly blessed with an overabundance of starting pitching. They traded for Freddy Peralta, who joined Nolan McLean, Kodai Senga, Clay Holmes, and David Peterson in the rotation. They also acquired Tobias Myers, who is capable of starting, in the Peralta trade, and they had Sean Manaea, Christian Scott, and Jonah Tong as depth.

Heading into June, the rotation has become a big question mark. While the team got good news that he doesn’t need surgery, Holmes is out for the foreseeable future with a fractured fibula. Senga is has made a pair of appearances on a rehab assignment as he recovers from lumbar spine inflammation, but there’s no guarantee he can be an effective major league pitcher when he does return.

As for the other starters, here’s how they’ve fared in the month of May:

• Freddy Peralta: 2-1 with a 3.52 ERA
• Nolan McLean: 1-2 with a 6.92 ERA
• David Peterson: 3-1 with a 4.30 ERA
• Christian Scott: 0-0 with 3.00 ERA

Myers isn’t stretched out and has been used both as an opener and a long man. He is 0-0 with one save in ten appearances in May. His ERA is 5.54 in those ten games. Jonah Tong has been fantastic since his call-up, but he has yet to start a game. In his two games, he has yet to give up an earned run in 6.2 innings.

And then there is Manaea. Overall his numbers look terrible, as he’s 0-1 with a 5.56 ERA in 34.0 innings pitched this season. And the fact that he’s coming off a 2025 season in which he struggled with both injuries and ineffectiveness isn’t exactly inspiring. In the month of May, however, he is 0-1 with a more respectable 3.75 ERA. He has been fine serving as the long man out of the bullpen when called upon.

At this point the team has nothing to lose giving Manaea a chance to start. They are in desperate need of arms, and he is capable of giving them some innings. Carlos Mendoza would not commit to giving Peterson another start after his last disastrous outing so there is an opportunity to piggyback the two. Plus in that scenario the team wouldn’t need to burn an opener like Huascar Brazobán, meaning crucial bullpen arms will be available in the later innings.

The current state of the rotation is a mess, so now is the time to get creative with the arms you do have and that means giving Manaea an opportunity to prove himself as a stater. There is still every chance that he will not succeed, but with the Mets already in last place, why not see what you have? The only way to go is up, right?

When Adolis Garcia came into camp after signing with the Phillies, the team had specific ideas on what they wanted him to work on in the hopes that he could recapture his past form. Garcia tweaked his batting stance and worked on improving his plate discipline to try and cut down on his high chase rate. So far, he has done exactly that, as his 28.1 % swing rate on pitches outside of the zone is the lowest it’s been since 2023, which was the best season of Garcia’s career and the last time he was an above average hitter. He’s also cut down his overall swing rate to 43.4% from 52.2%, cut his whiff rate down to 12.9% from 14.6%, and his 83.7% rate of contact on pitches inside the zone is the best of his career. Through the first two months of 2026, he’s accomplished all of the goals he and the Phillies laid out for him this spring.

So why is he in the midst of the worst season of his career after a particularly brutal month of May where he hit .141 with a .447 OPS and 33 strikeouts in 24 games?

To attempt to understand that conundrum, we must first look at what made Garcia successful in the past. In that All-Star 2023 season, Garcia was one of the most aggressive hitters in baseball, swinging early and often as evidenced by his swing rate of 48.6%. He did not hit for a high average at just .245 overall, but his .508 slugging percentage was tenth best among all hitters with at least 600 plate appearances. Garcia still swung and chased at a high rate, but he did damage on the pitches he got to hit.

Fast forward to 2026, and Garcia’s .312 SLG is among the worst in baseball, and he has the worst barrel percentage of his career by half. His new swing and approach have resulted in the intended plate discipline improvements but have had unintended side effects.

Cutting back on his aggressiveness has limited Garcia’s ability to do damage on the increased amount of pitches he’s seen in the zone. Even in a poor 2025 season where Garcia had the worst SLG of his career to that point, his expected SLG of .427 was right around league average and his 11.6% barrel rate was above average. In 2026, those numbers are dramatically lower, with Garcia carrying a .350 xSLG and a 7.1% barrel rate that would both be his career worst for a full season. He’s especially struggling to catch up to fastballs, as his .284 actual SLG and .378 xSLG against heaters are both the worst marks of his career. He hasn’t been any better on breaking balls, with a .292 SLG and .294 xSLG that are also the worst of his career and a 39.4% whiff rate that is the second worst of his career.

Garcia is hitting more line drives at a career best 24.4% rate, but his flyball rate has plummeted ten percentage points to a career worst 36.2%. He’s also pulling the ball at a career worst rate of 37.8%, continuing a declining trend that started in 2024. His isolated power of .111 is another career worst mark and is over a 50-point dropoff from last season. Simply put, Garcia is not impacting the ball even close to the way he used to and has been worse at it than even his disappointing 2025 season.

Now, some of this can be contributed to the obvious factor: age. At 33-years-old coming off of two below average seasons, it’s quite likely that Garcia is in decline and will never reach his previous heights but rather will continue to get worse. But the steep drop from even his poor 2025 suggests that maybe something else is at play here. There’s not much to contribute to luck either, as Garcia’s .276 BABIP is only slightly below the league average of .287 so far.

Perhaps trying to change Garcia into a different hitter has made him worse than he already was in two disappointing seasons. A hitter trying to become more patient at the plate is not necessarily a bad thing, as it usually leads to more quality plate appearances. But that’s not the case for everybody. Some hitters thrive on being aggressive. Garcia is one of those hitters. By trying to cut back on that aggressiveness, Garcia and the Phillies have inadvertently taken away the few things he was still good at even in his worst years.

Maybe better results with the new approach will come eventually. It isn’t exactly “early” in the season anymore as we’ve passed the first unofficial checkpoint of Memorial Day, but there are still 106 games to go. That’s still plenty of time for something to click and everything to fall in place.

Or maybe the Phillies and Garcia need to accept that he is what he is at the plate and let him go back to leaning on his strengths, even if the result is another below average season. Because even below average is better than what Garcia is right now.